February 05, 2007
Shave and a Haircut
Steve Barber passed away at a young age on Sunday.
Steve Barber, the first 20-game winner in Baltimore Orioles history, died from complications of pneumonia on Sunday night in at a hospital in Henderson, Nev., the team announced Monday. Barber was 67.
In a 15-season major league career, Barber was 121-106 with a 3.36 ERA. He was 95-75 in 7½ seasons with the Orioles.
Barber's career went downhill with the new strikezone in 1969. Through 1968, he posted a 3.18 ERA. After that, it ballooned to 4.17. It's tough to pin it on the strike zone however, since his K per 9 rate was constant at 5.9 per 9.
My thoughts go out to his family and friends.
Posted by David Pinto at
03:53 PM
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I forget if Bill James once remarked on this, but it does seem that players who peak early and burn out young tend, as a group, not to live as long as guys who have long careers.
It's hardly an ironclad rule - Smokey Joe Wood lived to be quite old.